Finding Sanctuary
by AntiquarianLootMonkey
Summary: Growing up on Pandora is hard enough, but when you lose your family it's even harder. For Jaks, Sanctuary is not just a refuge, it's a place to start over, make friends and face tough decisions.
1. Chapter 1

**Finding Sanctuary**

The brown-haired girl dropped her wrench laughing. It hit the sidewalk with a metallic clang. The large robot beside her dutifully picked it up and handed it back to her. Taking the tool she turned back to her small blonde human companion, and loudly continued her bawdy violent anecdote. The blonde girl rolled around on the pavement hysterically. Even from this distance the pair left a bad taste in Jaks' mouth. The loud brashness, the spittle-filled explosion noises, the blood and guts stories, the fart jokes. All the things Jaks had been taught to despise, concentrated in two young girls. But that wasn't the worst thing about them – the younger one, the blonde, prided herself as a demolition expert, a bold assertion in someone so young but one she apparently lived up to. The older girl was staking an even greater claim – as a Vault Hunter. Jaks envied her and maybe even hated her. A vault hunter at 18. It was a joke. But as the brown-haired girl turned back to finish working on her monstrous robot bodyguard, Jaks knew the girl must have some talents or she wouldn't be tinkering with the metal-man like that, or be holed-up in the Crimson Raiders Headquarters with the other Vault Hunters. Maybe the worst thing about the girls was they never talked to Jaks. It was as if Jaks didn't even exist. But that was life in Sanctuary.

It hadn't always been like that. Jaks had grown up in Tartarus Station, in one of the clean-lined buildings overlooking the lower town. Her father Eli was a sales rep for Jakobs, and as a family member, made good money. That was where she first saw the Vault Hunters. Four legendary figures who had set out to find the fabled alien Vault, and in doing so clean up Pandora, ridding it of the feuding bandit gangs that plagued the planet and the despicable Atlas Corporation, or so her father said. She remembered the day they arrived, presenting themselves to the local Hyperion directive Mr Blake. The fiery-headed Siren, the upright soldier, the cool-looking hunter with that exotic bird on his shoulder, and _him_. The tall, muscular, cavalier figure standing behind the other three, enigmatically silent and his hands slightly bruised. In the pit of thirteen-years-old Jaks' stomach she turned into jelly-wobbles just looking at him. Of course, she knew who they all were, there were Atlas 'Wanted' posters all over town. She had stealthily taken one of Brick from the back wall of a local bar and put it up in her bedroom, but now they were here in Tartarus Station and she felt all a-flutter. The posters didn't compare to seeing the Vault Hunters in the flesh.

Her hopes of meeting Brick were dashed by her mother though, who was adamant that Jaks was to stay well away from the Vault Hunters as they were too dangerous, and kept a careful watch over Jaks and her siblings while the Vault Hunters were in town. Then Jakobs set up a new colony out in the swamp lands and offered her father a bonus if he took a set-up role out there as a family representative. The position gave Eli a chance to try some new ideas that he'd previously not had leverage for. Within a week or two of living in the Cove, Jaks' little sister Maisy started to get night terrors, claiming that dead things were trying to get into the house. Her parents struggled for weeks to calm her and curb the terrors. Then Jaks' father received a new job offer as a private liaison from a dealer out in New Haven. It was less than he was making in Jakobs Cove, but closer to the main centres on Pandora with more chance of getting help for Jaks' little sister. The move was a dangerous one. It meant cutting formal ties with Jakobs, and for family this meant no entitlement to support. But with his own family in upheaval due to Maisy's terrors, Jaks' father incurred the company's wrath and left with his wife and children.

New Haven was a dust bowl – hot, arid, and unwelcoming. But Jaks' little sister made a rapid recovery, no more night terrors, no more tales of dead things disturbing her sleep. Jaks' family seemed to adjust to New Haven life. Even the dealer, Marcus, that her father started working for seemed like a great hulking over-zealous uncle. He took delight in reminding the family of what a great opportunity New Haven was for them, and how lucky Jaks' father was to be working for the best gun dealer on Pandora. They'd been living in New Haven for three months, when her father was sent to negotiate a deal for Marcus out on the Trash Coast. According to Marcus it was a standard negotiation, but he couldn't go himself. 'Not to worry. Your father will be back in a day or two'. But two days past and her father didn't return. After a week, Jaks' older brother Troy went looking for him, and found their father's corpse within a hundred meters of the fast travel station out on the Coast. A bullet was buried in his brain and his personal shield had been fried. They never knew if the deal had gone wrong, if it he'd been randomly attacked by bandits, or if the whole thing had been a set up. Everyone had their suspicions.

Jaks' mother didn't want to stay in New Haven, even though Marcus promised to look after her. She said she didn't want to be left "anywhere near that man". They thought of returning to the new colony out at Jakobs Cove, but learned that it had been quarantined for an undisclosed period and all transport had been cut. Tartarus Station was too expensive for the new widow, cut off as she now was from Jakobs support, and so Jaks, her mother, Troy and Maisy made their way across Pandora to the small town of Lynchwood. Lynchwood had a reputation as a lawful, peaceful town with good transport and services. Jaks' mother said it would be safe.

Jaks' family stayed in Lynchwood for almost two years. The first seven or eight months were just as her mother said they'd be. Lynchwood was safe, it was peaceful. They began to rebuild their lives, slowly freeing themselves from the pain of Eli's death. But then the town mayor was killed in a skirmish outside town. Rumours whispered through town that he'd been executed by big yellow robots, while others said no one could tell because skags had eaten his face off. Not long after, Hyperion moved in and reopened the old mine outside town, looking for eridium, and a new sheriff was appointed. When the new sheriff arrived the townsfolk were stunned to find a woman had been given the job. And not just any woman, the new Sheriff of Lynchwood was the current squeeze of the head of Hyperion. More than just a CEO, Handsome Jack was becoming an ever-present controlling force on Pandora. The Sherriff did her best to exert the same control over the citizens of Lynchwood. People were arrested for everything and anything. Small indiscretions were treated as major crimes, and the words 'punishable by death' were applied to most offences. At first the lawful applauded the heavy-handed tactics, believing they would be immune to the Sherriff's wrath, but when the small amount of outstanding crimes in town had been dealt with, the Sherriff turned on the law-abiding. When Troy spoke out against the Sherriff's behaviour, the Sherriff didn't bother to issue a warrant for his arrest – she went gunning for him herself. Fearing for his life, Jaks' brother fled. He'd always been ahead with technology, and an expert with guns thanks to their father, so he fled to the one place he thought the Sherriff wouldn't be able to get him: he took a job with Hyperion. He worked with the Hyperion Research and Development department, and sent home regular Echo recordings.

The Sherriff left the family alone once Jaks' brother was gone. But as her reign of terror in Lynchwood continued, some of the townsfolk turned to local bandits for help. Bandits started making raids on the trains passing through town, then on local industry and on the town itself. Invited in by the people to make trouble for the Sherriff, the bandits got a stronghold in the outer part of town. The Sherriff of Lynchwood made war on the bandits, and the bandits fought back, harrying the Sherriff and townsfolk alike. All the while the Echo recordings kept coming from Troy, with news of off-world developments, rebel attacks on Pandora settlements, and strange new elemental weapons.

With life in Lynchwood turned on its head by the infiltrating bandits, more and more townsfolk decided to leave. Jaks thought her mother might also move, but didn't know where they'd go. She heard about some small settlements out in the Pandora Highlands, and even of a new city being constructed by Handsome Jack. It was said to be for Hyperion workers and new Pandora settlers, with tree-lined streets and modern new high-rises. She thought perhaps her brother might be able to find them a new home there, and suspected her mother was hoping for that too. But the messages from her brother were becoming more despondent, with his focus on the Crimson Raider rebels and something he called 'slag'. He seemed preoccupied by its effects and some sort of experimental research Hyperion R&D was conducting. Jaks couldn't understand most of it, and didn't know why he found it so consuming. It was almost two months before they received the next Echo from Troy. There was no apology for the lapse. It simply said "Get out of Lynchwood now. Make for the Crimson Raider stronghold of Sanctuary. Don't tell anyone that you're leaving or where you're heading to, just go. I'll explain as soon as I can."

Jaks recognised the same strain in her brother's voice that had been there when he told the family of her father's fate. She didn't know what made her brother send such an alarming message, but thought it must be serious. Jaks' mother, however, didn't believe anything was amiss, after all, Troy had said he'd send another Echo explaining his demand. So she waited. Jaks' family stayed in Lynchwood another two months waiting to hear from her brother, but no more messages came. They saw the last of the townsfolk packing their belongings before her mother finally realised that no more Echoes would reach her in Lynchwood. The family quickly packed their things and joined the last caravan, leaving Lynchwood to descend into bandit hell.

Old neighbours were spreading out across Pandora and travelling with them, at least for a while, offered Jaks' family some small protection against predators of all kinds. Some were making for the sandports of Oasis and the Junction, others were heading to a new town out on the Frozen Wastes called Liarsberg, some were even heading back to the desolate town of Fyrestone. It was a rabble bunch of a few families, a newly-wed couple, an elderly couple, a pregnant woman, and a handful of men who had been holding out against the bandits of Lynchwood, trying to protect ancestral properties. They crossed the arid mesa terrain beyond Lynchwood, and journeyed up into the Highlands. The leaders of the group Jaks' family travelled with recommended they stop in at Overlook, a small town in the Highlands. Some Lynchwood folks had relatives there, and everyone agreed it would be a good place to pick up supplies. Overlook was small and welcoming, but within a day of being there it was apparent the town had problems of its own. Overlook was itself overlooked by a Hyperion fort-station, and for the first time Jaks saw the truth behind the long rumours of Hyperion domination and control on Pandora. Overlook citizens were constantly issued with threats by Hyperion, and Hyperion military robots roamed its outskirts. Even more alarming, the townspeople were succumbing to a brain disease they called 'the shivers', a deadly by-product of their eridium refining. And with this came a slag infection, causing the afflicted to vomit toxic bile as their insides liquefied. It was a painful death, and some were saying it had been purposely created and released by Hyperion. Jaks wasn't sure if this was true, but it was obvious Hyperion was withholding medicine and supplies from the town.

Unsure how contagious the sickness was, and unable to restock supplies, the Lynchwood caravan moved on, leaving behind those who stayed to look after sick relatives. In just a few short hours of being on the road, the first case of slag infection struck. The elderly man came down with it, and without medicine it wasn't long before he was dead. His wife, who'd been nursing him, was next along with the pregnant woman who'd been sharing their vehicle. The contagion spread, attacking the weakest among them, but with no medical supplies and no towns to take refuge in, they carried on in the hope of finding some small outpost with a vending outlet. Jaks' mother said it was unlikely one of Doctor Zed's health potions would cure the disease but that it might at least buy some time for the infected until they could find a real doctor. The enfeebled caravan slowly crossed the Highlands, coming down into the Frozen Wastes. At a dilapidated motel called The Happy Pig, the group found vending machines still working, but barely stocked. They stayed the night in the ill-kept rooms. But for Jaks it was too late. Although her mother had kept the family away from the sick, Jaks' little sister Maisy started to show the first signs of infection. The group had already lost almost half its number on the road, and now that drugs had been found most were eager to get back on the road and find a doctor for proper treatment. The thought of waiting for more cases to break out amongst them while a child was tended to didn't strike a chord.

One of the burly men broached the situation with Jaks' mother. "You've seen how this thing spreads. If we all stay here, others will get it, and if she comes with us out on the road then we'll be infected miles from help again. Perhaps it would be best if you stayed here. We can always send help back for you… when we find some." Jaks' mother nodded her head silently, tears welling in her eyes as she nursed her sick daughter. "Your other daughter can come with us, if you want," he added, trying to offer some consolation, and casting a long sideways glance at Jaks.

"No, we stay together, as a family" her mother insisted.

The man, who called himself Brem, nodded, "You know best. Where you heading to anyway?"

Jaks' mother bit her lip, and with slight hesitation she said, "Sanctuary".

"Sanctuary?" he asked in a hushed tone. Looking over his shoulder to check if anyone was close enough to hear, he knelt down beside Jaks' mother. "Did you say Sanctuary?" Jaks' mother nodded, looking confused, unsure what the secret was. "Not many are looking to head that a-ways. Are you looking to join the resistance?" he asked doubtfully.

"Resistance? No. I had an Echo message from my son, telling us to leave Lynchwood and go to Sanctuary. I shouldn't have left it for so long, I should have gone when he said to. He's going to contact us there."

The man looked at the pitiful despair in Jaks' mother's eyes. "Look, there's a couple of us headed that way too. The Crimson Raiders have their resistance base there, and we're looking to join. Can't promise nothing, but I'll do what I can." He walked away and re-joined the others.

There was a brief discussing with two of the other men, followed by a more animated discussion with the rest of the group. Finally, people started re-packing vehicles, preparing to leave. As Brem approached Jaks' mother, Jaks could see the two men he'd talked with hoisting sniper rifles and shotguns from their own vehicle and checking their ammo stocks. "Well, most people weren't too happy about sticking around. We've told 'em to make a start. But me and the boys there will stick around an extra night. We'd all be separating soon anyhow. That ought to give you some time. If she's strong enough in the morning then we make for Sanctuary. If she's not… well we've all seen what happens."

"Thank you" was all Jaks' mother could say.

The night was chill on the Frozen Wastes, and the room heaters had long-since stopped working in The Happy Pig. Jaks' little sister died in the night, her body given over to the aggressive illness. Jaks and her mother had made use of as many health shots as they could get throughout the night, and by morning neither showed signs of the dreaded disease. Mother and daughter were almost numb with both cold and grief, when the men finished burying their youngest family member. Brem guided them to their vehicle, got in and started it up. Jaks' mother sat in the front passenger seat, sobbing, while Jaks sat in the back staring into nothingness. The convoy pulled out of The Happy Pig, cautiously crossing Three Horns Valley, into the Divide, with all eyes looking out for the wasteland terrors of rakk, skag and bullymong. In the Divide they checked the vending machines, restocking on health shots as a precaution. Finally, the gates of Sanctuary loomed before them and before long they had taken refuge in the city. That was three years ago.

Jaks and her mother had found living quarters not far from a mechanic's garage, and her mother earned some small money keeping the books for a local shop-keeper named Earl. People called him Crazy Earl, and Jaks could understand why. His constant screeching, the dribbling from his slack lips, the profanities, and the obsession with pet food didn't exactly point to a model of sanity. But he was ready to pay her mother decently for the work she did. She sometimes saw the burly man around town who'd been their saviour back in the Frozen Wastes. Brem had joined the Crimson Raiders, just as he wanted to, and would check on Jaks and her mother when he was stationed in town.

Three years in Sanctuary had seen a lot of changes. Hyperion dominion over Pandora had become increasingly apparent for all to see, and Handsome Jack's influence and atrocities also became more blatant. Meanwhile the Crimson Raiders-lead rebel resistance also grew in force and popularity, as did the size of Sanctuary as more and more people took harbour from Hyperion. And then the Vault Hunters arrived. Not those heroic figures of legend that Jaks remembered from her childhood, all those years ago in Tartarus Station, but a new brethren who dared to take on Hyperion and bring down Handsome Jack, including that whelp laughing raucously across the town square. With rumours of new vaults being uncovered and the remains of the Hyperion mess to clean up, they had joined up with what was left of that first legendary team, including her childhood hero Brick. The harsh realities of the last few years had dulled her crush, but she still blushed every time he walked past, and still couldn't bring herself to say hello. And her mother still cautioned her about going near the Vault Hunters.


	2. Chapter 2

**Finding Sanctuary**

When they first arrived in Sanctuary, the city was mainly occupied by Crimson Raider troops, many of whom had been one-time bandits or in the Crimson Lance, with just a few refugees trying to rebuild their lives. Jaks' mother warned her to stay away from the Crimson Raiders, as soldiers were dangerous. Then her mother found out the notorious Mad Moxxi had set up shop in Sanctuary. Jaks was told in no uncertain terms that she was never to go near Moxxi's bar, and never to talk to the woman if she saw her because "She is a woman of ill-repute and make no mistake! She's the kind who brings disgrace and shame on all who know her". Of course, Sanctuary was a small enough city that it was hard to avoid talking to people, but Jaks knew her mother meant well, and had been changed by her grief. It was a grief compounded by the fact that no word had ever come from Jaks' brother Troy. No Echo recordings had reached Sanctuary from him, and no news about him was received via the Hyperion Broadcasting Network. The next strike to the family came when Jaks and her mother saw Marcus Kincaid setting up shop, not far from Moxxi's. When her mother saw Marcus in Sanctuary the first time, the profanities that spewed from her lips were enough to halt passing Raiders, and it took both Jaks and Crazy Earl to hold her back and calm her down. Marcus was also on the blacklist of people Jaks had to stay away from.

Before long, the list was encompassing almost everyone in Sanctuary – Tiny Tina, Patricia Tannis, Michael Mamaril, Scooter, and of course the Vault Hunters. Not that she needing dissuading from talking to Scooter. The local mechanic was only a couple of years older than her, but as lecherous as they got. The only people she was sanctioned to talk to were Brem on his rare visits, Crazy Earl and Doctor Zed, who had been her mother's physician and counsellor since they arrived in Sanctuary.

Jaks spent all the time she could talking to Zed, learning what she could, helping where she was able. The blood and gore didn't bother her much. A lifetime on Pandora had made her immune to its horrors. Between hunting with her father as a child, seeing the bandit raids and Sherriff's 'punishments' in Lynchwood, the fatal climax of the slag infection, and years of civil war, Jaks felt like she'd already seen it all. Doctor Zed didn't seem to mind her hanging around, but would occasionally tell her to scram. "Haven't you got some hobbies or something, instead of botherin' me all the time?" The problem was she didn't have anywhere else to go. Then in the course of helping Zed, he gave her a folded message and told her to run it over to Marcus. "But – ", she started.

" I don't have time to listen to complaints. Get over there now!"

Jaks ran out of the infirmary, crossed the square, down the alley to Marcus Munitions, and down the stairs to the shop. Entering the darkened lobby, she was greeted by a familiar growl. "How can I – hey it's you. What the hell do you want?"

"Nothing from you. Doctor Zed told me to give you this". She pushed the folded message across the counter at him. Marcus read it quickly.

"Hmm. Ok, tell him I'll look into it." As Jaks turned to leave, Marcus called after her, "Hey kid, I'm sorry things didn't turn out so well for your family. Especially for your mother, huh?"

Jaks turned back to him and snapped "Don't you dare talk about my mother!"

"Ok, ok. No need to get offended. If you need to blow off some steam you can do it on the firing range, not at me. Maybe you can come back sometime, I'll even let you use the range for free, for old times' sake. And I don't make that offer to everyone!"

Jaks turned and left the shop, shaking her head with fury. Returning to Zed, she relayed the response Marcus had given, and returned home. Stirred with memories, she lay on her bed thinking of what could have been, and what she wished could be. She raged against all that had destroyed her family, but her anger didn't have a focus and she was unable to articulate a revenge. Instead, she thought of those who did fight back against the world, and not for the first time she wished she could join the Vault Hunters on their adventures. But not only was this against her mother's strict instructions, she felt that she had nothing to offer. She was no Siren, no soldier, assassin, or mechanical magician (she refused to use the word 'genius' for that annoying girl). She wasn't even acknowledged by the Vault Hunters, let alone be considered worthy of their inner-circle. She was just another refugee hiding behind their wing of protection.

The next few days saw an increased number of casualties coming in from the clean-up operations against the remnants of Hyperion. Doctor Zed kept her busy in the infirmary, as Raiders returned from fighting enclaves of Loaders out in the Arid Badlands. Jaks dressed wounds, held patients down on the cots while Zed worked on them, and cleaned up the blood and puke that inevitably accompanied all his operations. The fighting between Crimson Raiders and Hyperion seemed to occur in waves since Handsome Jack's downfall, with lulls in the fighting as Raiders gained the upper-hand in one region, then fierce outbreaks again as more posts were uncovered. The Arid Badlands was proving a particularly difficult and bloody war zone for the Raiders. After six days straight of treating slagged, burnt up, and half blasted to hell victims of Hyperion death-bots, there was no reprieve and Zed, Jaks, and the other infirmary aides were exhausted. The casualties were becoming more gruesome and disfigured. By the eighth day of the conflict, Zed told Jaks to leave. "Go home kid, you don't want to see this. The overnight deliveries are in a worse state than usual, take it from me. Get some rest, I'll let you know if I need you back in a day or two."

Jaks left Zed's Infirmary, and wandered home along the backstreets, avoiding eye-contact with Scooter who was standing out the front of his garage, and taking care not to interact with any of the unseemlies taking the main route out of Moxxi's Bar. At home she was on her own, her mother at Earl's, and she cast around for things to do. There was a pitiful supply of books in Sanctuary, most being in private collections owned by people on her mother's blacklist. She had already read the five books they still owned more times than she could count, and had gone through most of those that Doctor Zed could lend her. Between helping in Doctor Zed's Infirmary and reading through his medical books, she had acquired almost as much medical training as he had.

Sanctuary was no centre for art, and the city's entertainments were barred to her. Then she got a wicked flash of inspiration. She opened her mother's wardrobe and took down the case of guns they'd brought with them from Lynchwood. The guns hadn't been used for a very long time, but had once been top-of-the-line one-off Jakobs weapons collected and well cared for by her father. There was a sleek scope-sighted sniper imparting a touch of incendiary effect, a heavy-stocked double barrel shotgun, a hefty elephant gun with a beautifully ornate wooden handle, and a long-barrelled seven-round revolver with a handle uniquely inlayed with pearl and silver filigree and an iridescent metal barrel and body. This revolver had always been her favourite. The 'Pearl' her father had called it. She had been allowed to use it several times when she was younger, and he always said it would be hers one day. She took the revolver and the elephant gun out of the case, and checking the bottom of the case found a box of bullets and a handful of shells. Carefully loading the weapons, she flicked the safety catches on, stowed the case, and left.

Walking the streets of Sanctuary with a gun in each hand wasn't out of the ordinary for most of the town's residents, but for Jaks it felt awkward and conspicuous. She tried to pretend it was normal for her as she passed through the centre of town. Reaching her destination, she checked back over her shoulder to make sure her mother was nowhere to be seen, and then descended into Marcus Munitions. Without looking up, Marcus growled "Two words my friend: no refunds."

"I don't want a refund, and I'm not here to buy anything either", Jaks shot back.

Marcus looked up. "Oh it's you. Back so soon, eh? With guns this time… you're looking to sell those?" She heard a click coming from behind the front desk as Marcus reached down next to him. "They look like Jakobs models. Weren't they from your father's collection?"

"Yes they are. And I'm not here to sell – you said I could use the firing range."

"Oh, sure," Jaks hears the click again, as Marcus' right hand returned to the top of the front desk. "Go ahead, it's a slow day so I'll let you use it at a cheap rate."

"You said I could use it for free. For old times' sake," Jaks insisted.

"I did? Are you sure?" Marcus narrowed his eyes, then looked away, unable to maintain his hard line with Jaks. "Yeah so I did. Go on through." Jaks followed his line of sight and stepped through the door into the range. Only one other person was using the range when Jaks stepped in. At the far end was a tall cyborg in a well-used safari suit. Jaks didn't recognise him immediately, and guessed he'd arrived in town during the Hyperion take-down. He was sighting down a sniper rifle and complaining loudly that Vladof didn't know how to make decent guns anymore. "Not like the old days. Now S&S and Atlas – they knew how to make a sniper. If only Hyperion hadn't driven them out of the local market. And then there was that thing with the Vault of course. If you find any come up on the market be sure to let me know." This was directed towards Jaks, and just as she was about to question him, Marcus stepped through a door behind her that she hadn't seen.

"If any come up I'll give you a good price," Marcus replied. The cyber-man laughed derisively and turned back to checking his weapon. "Him you can ignore," Marcus said to Jaks, "unless you want to be bored to death with old hunting stories. You can set up here, in the middle – lots of room for wide bullets. You did bring bullets, right?" He gave Jaks a doubtful look.

She nodded. "Well, if you need more I've got all kinds. Not free though." Marcus turned and walked back through the door to his office. Jaks looked around her, put the Pearl on the counter top, and propped the elephant gun upright against the counter beside her. She checked the Pearl, and sighting down the 3.9 zoom released the safety catch and took her first shot. She missed the target clean. She lowered the gun and sighed, releasing breath she didn't realise she'd been holding. She was trembling with nerves and exhilaration. It had been a long time since she had taken a shot. Getting her nerves back under control, she tried again. This time her bullet made contact with the target at least but was still wide. She took a couple of controlled breaths to regulate her breathing, dropped her shoulders then took a third shot. This time she made good, striking the target just right of dead centre. She fired another couple of bullets, gaining accuracy with each one. As she came to the end of her first magazine, she found herself enjoying life for the first time in a long while. Smiling, she reloaded her weapon.

"That's a nice piece you have there." The cyborg was talking to her this time.

"Uh, thanks," her response was as awkward, it was so rare she got to talk to new people.

"I don't believe we've met – I know all the traders, collectors, would-be hunters and gunslingers in this town. They all come through Moxxi's, and they all come to me. The name's Hammerlock, Sir Hammerlock actually." He extended his artificial right hand towards Jaks.

"Jaks," she said shaking his hand gingerly, as if it might fall off. "I don't go in Moxxi's. I'm not allowed," she added hoping to explain herself.

"Not allowed? According to whom? Did you do something devilishly wicked and have Moxxi ban you?" he asked with a delighted smile. "I can't imagine that would work – Moxxi usually prefers the devilishly wicked!" He laughed heartily.

"No. My mother won't let me go in there. She says it's shameful."

Hammerlock raised his eyebrows. "Really?"

"My mother always tries to look out for me. She isn't very well, and gets upset easily," Jaks now felt uncomfortable with the conversation, and just wanted Hammerlock to let it go.

"I see, another one like that hag Crazy Earl has working for him, eh?" he said with a wink.

Jaks looked up at him with disbelief. "That _is_ my mother."

"Oh. My condolences," Hammerlock chuckled and turned back to the Pearl. "So that leaves the question of how you came by this little trophy."

Jaks was still dumbstruck by his candid comments, yet she was too surprised to be angry at him. Besides, there was something about Hammerlock that was instantly likable. He was jovial, and made her feel like she was part of the in-crowd.

"It's a legendary Jakobs Swift Pearl Justice MKII, if I'm not mistaken," he went on. "A very limited quantity were made, most of which went to Jakobs' own. I saw one once when I was hunting out in the swamp lands near Jakobs Cove. It was in a private collection unfortunately."

"It was my father's. He collected guns. He worked for Jakobs before he died."

"I see. Well, if you could bear to part with it at any point, I'll give you a tidy amount for it."

"Thanks, but I won't be selling it." She finished reloading, and turned back to her target. Hammerlock watched with some interest, before turning back to his own weapons. He picked up a shotgun, and started to load it. Jaks took her time with each shot, breathing into it, focusing her mind on the target. She managed to hit the central area in a cluster on five of her seven shots, with only two just a little to the right. Feeling buoyed by her efforts, she switched over to the elephant gun. It was heavy in her hands, and without a scope to zoom in on the target it was harder to aim. She had seen her father use the weapon on hunting trips when she was very young, and could remember the almost sonic boom it made as it fired and way it rocked him back on his heels as the projectile left the barrel. The memory made her tentative, and she held the gun cautiously. The gun took nine bullets, and she wasted the first three trying to adjust to looking down the iron sights while grappling with the trigger. Eventually she hit her mark, and was gaining confidence with her aim but remained uncertain of the weapon as she was sent three steps back with each shot.

Hammerlock, who had again taken an interest in her performance with this new gun, walked over applauding. "Well done, very badass indeed." Jaks blushed at the praise. "You could do better though," he said, smiling as he approached her. "If I may…" Hammerlock walked behind Jaks and stood against her. Alarmed, Jaks jumped forward.

"Back off robot-man!"

"I beg your pardon?" Hammerlock looked dismayed. "I was merely offering help. And I'm not _all _mechanical you know, some parts are quite – "

"You will be if you get near me like that again!" Jaks had enjoyed Hammerlocks friendly banter, but the invasion of her personal space was something she just wasn't used to and she felt threatened by his forwardness.

Hammerlock snorted. "My dear Miss Jaks, I'm as interested in you, as I dare say you are in the local mechanic. You're not my type. In fact I'd probably say the local mechanic is more my type than you are. Though I certainly hope I never get _that_ desperate!"

"Oh," Jaks said quietly, her face reddening as she realised what Hammerlock meant.

"Yes," Hammerlock laughed, "You're quite safe in my company. Now pick that gun up properly and let me see your stance again."

Jaks lifted the elephant gun and stood facing the target at the ready. Hammerlock stood close behind her, sighting down the gun over her shoulder. "Hmm," he muttered, then walked around to her left, checking her stance. "You hold the gun as though it might bite you. You need to take a firmer grip on it for a start." Jaks nodded and held onto the gun tightly. "No, that's called a death grip. You don't need to hold it that tight. Just a good firm hold." Jaks adjusted her grip once more. "Better," said Hammerlock. "Now we must do something about your stance. This is an elephant gun, not a sniper or shotgun. You need to lean into it more, and support it against your shoulder." He moved around her and moved the gun into the correct position showing her where to have her hands, then corrected her hip position and posture. "There, now all you have to do is aim, shoot the target, and try not to fall backwards with the recoil."

Jaks looked at Hammerlock horrified. He laughed again, "Not to worry Miss Jaks, you haven't fallen over yet, which is surprising given how you were holding this beast!" Jaks took a deep breath and let it out, then turned her attention to the target. She listened to Hammerlock's last few tips, then aimed and squeezed the trigger. Her shot landed in the central zone of the target, but still someway off bullseye. "Bravo!" Hammerlock applauded. "A very good effort, with more practice you'll become quite accomplished."

Jaks smiled, and turned back to the target. With Hammerlock's help, she nailed the bullseye twice before having to reload. She fired through another round, improving with each shot as Hammerlock fine-tuned her posture, her hand positions, and her focus. "You've made excellent progress Miss Jaks, you're quite the protégé. Mind you, it's quite a different scenario when the target is moving. Perhaps next time you come in, you should try it." Jaks hadn't given any thought to returning to the firing range, but now the seed was planted and she was eager to learn more from the old hunter.

"Will you be coming in here again soon?" she asked Hammerlock.

"Most probably, I'm never too far away and always keen to test new acquisitions. Why, are you looking for company?" he asked wryly.

She laughed, a little embarrassed. "I was wondering if you could teach me more, show me how to hit a moving target maybe… it's a long time since I did any shooting. Maybe I could come back in tomorrow, if you'll be here?"

Hammerlock considered the proposal for a moment. "Alright Miss Jaks, I accept. But if I'm to tutor you, I must insist we start with a different weapon. You've got the basics now for the elephant gun, but for a moving target, I would suggest we work with a sniper rifle. I have a suitable spare if you are in need." Jaks thanked him but pointed out the sniper in her father's collection. Hammerlock expressed his interest in seeing the rifle, and after arranging to meet at the firing range the next morning Jaks packed up her weapons and left for the day. She had been on the range for longer than she'd realised, and the afternoon was growing late. She hurried across the square, reaching home before her mother's return from Crazy Earl's. She cleaned the weapons and stowed them in the case with the others in the collection, and eagerly awaited the next morning.


	3. Chapter 3

**Finding Sanctuary**

The next morning Jaks was up early. As soon as her mother had left for the day, she took down the case of guns and pulled out the sniper. It had a sleek design, and was light-weight in her hands despite its size. Like all Jakobs weapons, it had a traditional wood and gunmetal appearance, but the wood was a deep cherry colour speckled with fiery orange and coal black grain, a reflection of the incendiary elemental damage the gun would unleash. She rounded up some ammo in a pouch, and headed out to meet Hammerlock. As she entered Marcus Munitions, Marcus looked up at her with eyebrows raised in slight surprise, and nodded her in to the range. Hammerlock wasn't there, the range was empty but for her. She set down her sniper and waited. After ten minutes of waiting she became anxious. She cleaned her rifle to pass the time, but there was still no sign. Another ten minutes passed. Before long Marcus came through from his office. "Look kid, I don't mind you using the range, huh? But if you're here, you gotta use it, this isn't a drop-in centre!"

"I'm waiting for Hammerlock, he said he'd meet me here this morning to give me a sniper lesson." Jaks' disappointment was palpable. "Maybe he left a message to say he'd be late?" she asked Marcus tentatively. Marcus shook his head.

"He's probably still at 'breakfast' – try looking for him in Moxxi's. Come back when you're ready to shoot something," he added, not unkindly.

Jaks was torn in two. She knew she was forbidden from stepping near Moxxi's, but she desperately wanted to learn how to shoot and to make a friend beyond Doctor Zed. She was eighteen and knew there was nothing to stop her from entering the bar except her mother, and in the end her desire for company won out. She left Marcus Munitions warily, crossing through Pierce Station and the Square, then doubling back down the alley to the entrance to Moxxi's, hoping not draw attention. She got to the door, almost hyperventilating with adrenalin. It was still early, not yet ten in the morning, and from the doorway she could see there weren't many patrons inside. She ran in, quickly scanned the bar and saw Hammerlock sitting in a darkened corner chatting to a rough looking man in ragged clothing. She walked quickly over to his table, drawing just a few stares from people sitting near the entrance and from the landlady. Reaching Hammerlock's table, he looked up. "Ah, Miss Jaks, I thought you didn't patronise this establishment. May I get you a refreshment, you look a little flushed?"

Jaks was growing ever more uncomfortable in the surroundings. "No thanks. We were meant to meet at the firing range this morning, I thought you might have forgotten…"

"I must apologise, I've let time get away from me here. I've been researching a spate of bullymong attacks in the Three Horns Valley. Apparently they've been much more violent than is usual. I'll finish up, and join you at the range in fifteen minutes." With that, Hammerlock turned back to his companion and continued to query the bullymong attacks. Jaks nodded, and walked back through the bar toward the entrance. A few of the men seated at the front bar turned to watch her pass. Jaks thought nothing of this, but then she heard a deep female voice call out behind her, "Hey Ruby-red, does your mother know you're here? Take it from me sugar, you can come back any time you like!" Jaks turned to see Moxxi behind the bar laughing, and heard a round of laughter erupt from the patrons sitting at the bar and nearby. She felt her whole body turn bright red, and she bolted out of the door. She didn't stop running until she got to the alley outside Marcus Munitions. She slumped against the wall, tears in her eyes, shaking with nerves, and tried to pull herself together. It took several minutes, and by the time she did she could see Hammerlock approaching.

"Well Miss Jaks, you certainly know how to make an exit! You created quite a stir in Moxxi's. I think she'll be eagerly awaiting your next visit. Now, are you ready for some sniping?"

Jaks nodded, and together they entered the firing range, with barely an acknowledgement from Marcus. The sniper lesson lasted most of the day, with Jaks barely noticing the time pass. Despite her ambition to shoot at moving targets, Hammerlock found enough faults with her technique to warrant the entire lesson being giving over to posture, aim, and mental focus on stationary targets. The exercise was made more difficult by the sniper's incendiary effects, and Jaks had to spend time using Hammerlock's heavier straight-damage rifle to perfect her technique. Before the day was out, another lesson was set to focus on the use of elemental weapons. Hammerlock was apparently enjoying the chance to impart his vast knowledge on a young mind, as well as have a captive audience for his many stories and research conundrums, and Jaks was genuinely fascinated by his experiences and grateful for the company.

Each morning, Jaks left shortly after her mother, and headed over to Marcus Munitions to wait for Hammerlock. On those mornings when he wasn't there, she'd cautiously head over to Moxxi's, and sit by the front door waiting for him. Moxxi soon realised what Jaks was up to and tried to invite her in, but Jaks kept to her mother's rules and remained outside, barely talking. Moxxi, who'd more than once incurred Jaks' mother's ire, felt sorry for the girl and would bring her soft drinks and a friendly word. As Jaks softened to Moxxi, the older woman would tell her stories from her own days as a young woman and a gunslinger. She was flirty and brash, the very opposite of Jaks' mother in manner and dress, but Jaks couldn't see Moxxi as malicious or dishonourable despite what she'd been told. Over the weeks, Jaks came to see Moxxi as a friend, and thought of her as an older sister or an aunt. She even didn't mind that Moxxi always called her 'Ruby-red'. She'd grown up hating being called 'Red' because of her long deep red hair, but the way Moxxi played with her first name was amusing. The only other person to call her by her first name was her mother, and usually Ruby Jakobs introduced herself as 'Jaks' – the name her brother called her as a child because she couldn't spell her last name properly in preschool and always left off the 'o' and 'b' – to avoid the jokes about her red hair. Her bond with Hammerlock also grew. He became her closest friend in Sanctuary, and educated her on science and literature as well as guns. He opened up his own vast collection of specimens, books, and artefacts to her, and encouraged her to learn. In the afternoons, when her time with Hammerlock was at an end, she'd head over to Doctor Zed's Infirmary and lend a hand as much as she could. The double life left Jaks exhausted, but for the first time she felt like she was fitting in, and didn't want to give up her new friends, nor incur her mother's wrath for disobeying her strict rules. Or worse, see her mother fall into another stupor because of the betrayal.

As the weeks turned into months, Jaks managed to keep her friends and training on the down-low. Doctor Zed queried her once or twice about the new calluses and burn-marks on her hands, but didn't seem too concerned about pursuing the issue, and kept what he knew to himself. She even talked to a Vault Hunter once without word getting back to her mother. It had been in Marcus Munitions during a training session with Hammerlock. The masked Vault Hunter, Mordecai, came in to test out a new long-barrelled revolver. Jaks was using the Pearl, and had gained very good accuracy with the weapon, enough for Mordecai to comment on her technique. "Nice work, you carry on like that and you'll be a better shot than me". Jaks was stunned by the compliment, and mumbled a barely audible reply. Later, Hammerlock and Moxxi, who'd somehow heard of the incident, both scolded her for having a deplorable amount of modesty. However, when Hammerlock suggested he take Jaks out shooting in the Pandora wilds, it was much harder for her to find an excuse not to join in. At first, Jaks resisted the offer. As much as she wanted to go hunting with Hammerlock, she knew it was too risky – if anything happened, she'd never be able to explain herself to her mother – but Hammerlock wouldn't drop the idea, and kept planting the seeds of rebellion in her mind. Eventually, her resolve crumbled, and she agreed to accompany him into Three Horns Valley, where he wanted to check out the local bullymong populations.

Jaks had been practicing with moving targets on the firing range for some time, and had become particularly proficient with sniper rifles and had even mastered the elephant gun, but this was to be her first time out with live targets. Even her father had never taken her out to shoot living things before – although she'd joined him on hunting trips as a child, she'd always been relegated to shooting at tin cans. She wasn't particularly looking forward to shooting an animal, but as Hammerlock reasoned, the bullymong attacks in this part of Pandora were steadily getting worse and a cull followed by scientific enquiry might explain why. After gathering more information from locals in Three Horns Divide and the Valley he had made observations of the population, and inspected the remains of recent bullymong victims, and suspected these bullymong to be diseased, perhaps even rabid. Hammerlock explained the only way to know for sure was to "secure a specimen or two". He also wanted to leave for the Frozen Wastes before sunrise and track the beasts early in the day. This made things difficult for Jaks, but she left her father's sniper with Hammerlock the day before, and told her mother she had to start early at the Infirmary the next morning to cover her tracks.

Meeting Hammerlock at Pierce Station just before sunrise, they geared up then travelled out to Three Horns. Quickly making use of the Catch-A-Ride, they found a suitable location to set up their sniper rifles and watch the bullymong forage. The sun was rising when the first bullymongs were spotted venturing out from their caves. Hammerlock talked Jaks through where to place her shot, and which beast to aim for. He selected a middling-sized bull, and readied his own weapons in case Jaks failed to take the beast down. They were well enough away from the group, should the bullymongs decide to retaliate, but she was glad to see Hammerlock take the precaution. Jaks took aim, steadied her breathing and her hands, and was about to squeeze the trigger when the squeal of a technical's wheels could be heard just along the road behind them. Jaks instantly dropped and took cover, assuming it was an approaching gang of marauders, but as the vehicle drew to a halt, she heard familiar voices and raised her head. Sliding out of the bandit technical she saw three Vault Hunters. "Hey Hammerlock, you're a hard man to track! We've been looking for you all morning," the commando called out. Then turning to Jaks, he tipped his hat politely, "Miss Jakobs". Axton beamed a friendly smile at her. Mordecai was already deep in conversation with Hammerlock, and Brick, who was kicking stones at the back of the patrol, occasionally nodded at what Mordecai was saying. Axton stood back a little from Mordecai and gazed in Jaks' direction. She couldn't help notice he was looking at her, but tried very hard not to meet his eye. Eventually, Hammerlock nodded to Mordecai and approached her.

"It would seem our hunting expedition must be put on hold. Mordecai and the others are heading out to the old Hyperion Wildlife Exploitation Preserve. Apparently there are still a few Hyperion personnel out there who've barricaded themselves in and are acting as a refuge for Hyperion forces. The boys are going to try to clear them out, but they need my help – there are some pretty nasty beasties out that way."

"Can I come?" Jaks blurted out.

"No, I think this one may be a bit too dangerous for you Miss Jaks. I shall return you to Sanctuary, safe and sound, and we'll have another stab at these bullymong when I return in a few days." Jaks was disappointed, but agreed to head back to the safety of Sanctuary. They packed their gear quickly and returned to their vehicle with Mordecai, Axton and Brick still at hand. Jaks had just dropped into the rear seat of their runner, when she heard a shot ring out behind her. She turned to see Axton take aim at a charging skag, and another dead beside the technical's rear wheel. The attack was rapid and came from nowhere. Suddenly they were surrounded by a pack of skags, snarling and spitting globules of pus-like venom. Jaks quickly realised the Vault Hunters had parked their vehicle between her own and some skag dens, cutting the animals off from their shelter on the return from their morning hunt. As the skags started to charge and bite at Hammerlock and the Vault Hunters, Jaks jumped from the runner, pulled out her rifle and dropped her first skag, setting light to it. The flaming, dying skag set light to the animal next to it. Jaks prepared to target another skag, and could see the others we also busy shooting at the animals. Mordecai had even unleashed his new bloodwing Talon on them, and Brick was bashing-in the head in of another. Jaks looked back at the advancing pack and could see an enormous male skag running in her direction. "Badass!" shouted Axton, as he pulled her out of the way. Hammerlock and Mordecai concentrated their fire on the beast, and brought it to a thudding halt not far from where Jaks had been standing. The remaining skags scattered. Around the vehicles was a scene of carnage. Jaks looked at the littered bodies, unsure what to feel. Hammerlock called her back to the runner, but out of the corner of her eye she saw movement. She looked closer and could see a skag not quite dead.

"Look," she pointed at it, "this one isn't dead."

"Leave it for the rakk," Hammerlock called back, but Mordecai was already approaching. He looked down at the skag curiously.

"I could punch it," Brick offered, who'd now also joined them. Jaks looked at him in horror. She couldn't believe the Vault Hunter she'd revered as a child could be so callous. Hammerlock, also standing by while Axton kept watch over the vehicles, saw the look on Jaks' face.

"It might sound harsh, but a swift death is the kindest thing we could offer this animal Miss Jaks."

"No," Mordecai squatted beside the dying creature. "It's a female, and she's heavily pregnant. Look at the distended belly. She may even be on the verge of birth."

Jaks knelt beside him. The skag was still snarling, but barely had the energy to do so, the snarls merely out of fear now rather than aggression. Jaks rested a hand on the skag's belly, and with a last gasp of breath and exertion the skag gave birth. Two pups slid free across the sleety ground, caught up in their umbilical cords. One was already dead, the other dying. "Quick," Jaks said, "fetch me the med kit from the runner." Hammerlock ran to retrieve it.

"What are you going to do?" Mordecai asked.

"Whatever I can," Jaks responded. She grabbed the kit from Hammerlock and set to work cutting the cord and getting air into the pup's lungs. It took almost twenty minutes for Jaks to be sure the pup wasn't going to expire. She looked down at the little thing lying on the ice before her. It squeaked pathetically.

"That's good work, saving the pup like that," Mordecai put a hand on her shoulder. "But now you've saved it, that makes you responsible for its life. What are you going to do?" Jaks looked down at the pup again. Hammerlock caught the look in her eyes.

"You can't bring it back to Sanctuary, imagine what your mother would say?" She knew Hammerlock was right, but her mind flashed back to the last time she was out at Three Horns. The memory of that moment when Jaks and her mother were to be left for dead by the other Lynchwood refugees because Jaks' sister had the slag infection. The memory seized her.

"I can't just leave it to die either. If I leave it here it will die – it has no mother."

"It's no easy thing, taking on a wild animal. Take it from me," Mordecai nodded towards Talon. "If you're not in it for the long haul, you might as well leave it and let nature take its course."

Jaks thought for a moment. "I know skags are wild animals, but they can be domesticated. Crazy Earl used to have that skag Scrappy that he always talks about," she started.

"Scrappy's perhaps not the best example…" Mordecai countered.

"Yeah, remember when that thing grew up? It tried to chew Lilith's arm off… nearly took your leg too!" Brick chuckled.

"Yeah, I remember," Mordecai sighed.

"But other people have done it. I know it will take a lot of effort, but it's not like I've got anything else to do." Jaks had her mind set now on rescuing the little beast.

"Where will you keep it?" Hammerlock asked, trying to be pragmatic.

"I don't know, but maybe Crazy Earl will let me keep him there if I explain…"

"What're you going to call him?" cut in Brick. "You should always give pets pretty names, like Priscilla."

"Nah, give it a name that reflects its personality," Mordecai advised.

"I've always preferred to name them after people or characters that have been significant," Hammerlock said.

Jaks looked at the way the skag pup dribbled incessantly, and bumped into her leg repeatedly as it tried to pull himself forwards. "Hmm…" she thought for a moment, "I think I'll call him Earl." Mordecai and Hammerlock looked at each other, holding back laughter.

The joke went over Brick's head however, and he said "See I told you a pretty name is best."

Hammerlock returned Jaks to Sanctuary, and she hid with Earl around the back of Doctor Zed's Infirmary until she could be sure her mother had left Crazy Earl's for the day. Then she slipped around to the Black Market and carefully explained to Crazy Earl about the pup, claiming to have found it abandoned in the trash behind Zed's. He agreed to house it until she could talk her mother around, and seemed flattered by the name she'd given it. "Damn fine, handsome little fella too!" he yelled in the pup's face.


	4. Chapter 4

**Finding Sanctuary**

It was four days before Hammerlock and the others made it back to Sanctuary, and in that time Jaks spent every moment she could with the little pup Earl. Her mother didn't want to know about it, but Crazy Early had teamed up with Jaks to try to convince her mother of the pup's qualities. The day Hammerlock returned with Mordecai, Axton and Brick, Jaks expected to see him on the firing range, but he didn't surface, nor was he to be found in Moxxi's. Jaks was unconcerned, as she had Earl to look after. That evening, at home with her mother, she was alarmed to hear a loud thumping on their door. Jaks opened it to see Mordecai and Brick standing in front of her. Mordecai immediately asked to speak to her mother. Flushed, Jaks called for her mother. They talked in hushed tones for several minutes, then her mother gasped, put her hand to her mouth to stifle a cry as tears ran down her face. "Oh Ruby, they've found your brother. They've finally found my Troy." She fell to the floor sobbing. Jaks looked up at Mordecai.

"We found a recording in the Wildlife Exploitation Preserve, detailing the death of Troy Jakobs by means of experimentation for being a traitor to the Hyperion Corporation," Mordecai told her in a matter-of-fact tone. "Apparently he was sending subversive information about Handsome Jack's slag experiments to the underground network in the hope of bringing Jack down and got found out. It was a brave move. I'm sorry for your loss." She nodded at Mordecai, and helped her mother to her feet.

Her mother stepped between Jaks and the Vault Hunters, and began to thank them for the information and close the door, when Brick spoke up. "Hey Jaks, how's the puppy?" he said cheerfully. Jaks' mother froze. She stared at the Vault Hunters, then turned slowly and gave Jaks a hard look. She closed the door without a word, and retired to her room. Jaks could hear her sobbing quietly, but when she tried to approach her mother, she was pushed away. Jaks' mother fell into a deeper despair than any Jaks had yet seen. Jaks called for Doctor Zed, but even he couldn't reach out to her mother. Jaks was unsure what to do, and apart from visits to check on the puppy Earl, and get advice from Hammerlock, she stayed as close to her mother as she was able. After four days, Jaks woke to find her mother missing from her room. Alive with the hope that she had recovered and gone to Crazy Earl's, Jaks went to find her. But on reaching Crazy Earl's she found her mother wasn't there. Jaks checked with Doctor Zed, the travel log at Pierce Station, even Moxxi's bar, but her mother was nowhere to be seen. She called on Hammerlock, and together they searched Sanctuary for her mother. By nightfall, Hammerlock told Jaks to go home in case her mother returned, but instead she was met by Mordecai.

"Hey Jaks," he approached awkwardly.

"Hi," she started. "Are you here to see my mother? It's just, uh… I'm not sure where she is. She's been gone all day. I've looked all over Sanctuary, and I just can't find her. I even checked the Fast Travel Station, but she hasn't left. I thought she might have gone out to the Preserve to see where Troy died…" she trailed off when she saw the uncomfortable look on Mordecai's face.

"I'm really sorry Jaks," he started. Jaks could feel bad news coming and started to shake. "Your mother… uh, your mother was found a few hours ago by a convoy of Crimson Raiders out on the Highlands. The news came through about half hour ago – I thought I better wait for you."

"What do you mean she was found on the Highlands?" Jaks was now visibly shaking. "Is she OK? Is she hurt? How did she get there?"

Mordecai looked down at his feet, then looked Jaks straight in the eye. "They found her body by the side of a cliff, probably been out there several hours. It was in a bad way. Smashed. You're right, she didn't use the Fast Travel, but she did leave Sanctuary. I'm sorry Jaks, it looks like she jumped."

Jaks stumbled backwards as Mordecai reached forward to catch her. In all the years of her mother's grief and depression, Jaks had never contemplated that she might take her own life, and yet now it seemed obvious that suicide was Grace Jakobs' only way out. Jaks wanted to cry out, but instead stood stunned, held by the Vault Hunter. Mordecai took Jaks inside and sent for Hammerlock. He watched over her until the old hunter arrived, warning Hammerlock not to let Jaks out of his sight in case she follow her mother's example. Jaks didn't sleep that night, though almost catatonic. She played out scenes from her life in her mind, over and over. She cried all over again for the loss of her father, for her brother's disappearance and eventual death, for little Maisy, and for the years of despair suffered by her mother. She felt the weight of guilt settle on her for her own actions over recent months, flouting her mother's rules. She kept coming back to the Vault Hunters' arrival at her house just days before to break the news of her brother, and inadvertently breaking the news of Jaks' own treachery. She cried silently. But as light grew around Sanctuary, another thought touched Jaks' mind. She was not to blame for her father's murder, or for brother joining Hyperion only to be tortured and executed by them. She was not responsible for her sister's illness, not for her mother's grief. If her father had still been alive, he would have wanted her to make friends and she would not have been cloistered away. Her mother had brought Jaks up as best she could, but the time would always have had to come when Jaks stepped out on her own. Jaks was not the cause of her mother's death. Her mother was damaged by forces beyond Jaks' control. She didn't have to wear the grief and guilt her mother had carried for so long.

She roused herself, and found Hammerlock sitting in the small kitchen. She pulled up a seat next to him and began to pour out her thoughts, her dreams, her plans. When daylight began to settle on the streets of Sanctuary, she left her home and ran over to Crazy Earl's. She stopped to say a few words of thanks to him, collected the skag pup, and left. Walking back along Sanctuary's streets, she began to hear a conversation taking place outside the Crimson Raider's Headquarters. She could recognise the voices of Mordecai, Moxxi and Marcus. Jaks stopped at the corner to listen.

"I feel responsible for her. I was there when her brother's recordings were found. Brick and I delivered the message of his death to the girl and her mother," Mordecai was saying. "All these years in Sanctuary… I'd heard the family's story and never reached out to them. Now to have to tell her that her mother jumped… It's not good. We should've done more to help them."

"What more could we have done? Everyone here has suffered, everyone's struggling to survive." This was a woman's voice, but not Moxxi's. Jaks thought it might have been Lilith, but she wasn't sure.

"We could have found some way to help," Mordecai replied. "I just hope Hammerlock's kept a good eye on her overnight. If anything happens to that girl, I'll take it personal."

"You'll take it personal? You barely know her." That was Moxxi.

"Yeah, well, she reminds me of how I was when I was a kid. Only with better manners."

"So what are you going to do Mordy? Take her under your wing? Teach her to drink straight from the bottle? Take it from me sweetlips, what that girl needs is a proper mother figure."

"Like you Moxxi?" Mordecai snorted.

"I'm a damn good mother I'll have you know," she shot back.

"Mordecai's right, we should have done more for them," Marcus growled. "Her father worked for me for a while out at New Haven – before Hyperion came along and shot the place to ribbons. They were a nice family, she was a good kid."

"So what happened?" This sounded like Lilith again.

"I convinced her father, Eli, to leave the Jakobs family business. Jakobs doesn't like it when a family member leaves. The company shut the family out. So he comes to work for me. Everything's working out well. Then I hear about this guy out on the Trash Coast, some merc who's grumbling about my weapons, says they're no good. He starts interrupting my shipments, you know, selling them off real cheap just to piss me off. Says if he ever meets me, he'll blow my head off. I try to placate him, no good. So I try to reason with him, set up a meeting to work it out. But, I can't go myself 'cause I know I'll be killed. So Eli offers to go. Says he's got a lot of experience negotiating tough deals, and it'll sound nice and official because he's a Jakobs. Before he leaves, he makes me promise to look after Grace and the kids – I gave him my word. Then he goes out there and gets shot in the head. I ended up hiring some guys to go out there and kill this bastard, but Grace wouldn't take any money or help from me."

"Jeez." Another voice, well rounded and a little gravelly. Jaks thought it might be Axton. For the first time Jaks knew what had happened to her father. He'd volunteered to walk into the lion's den. She shuddered.

"This doesn't help us figure out what to do for her now, unless you're offering to take her in," Mordecai said to Marcus.

"Me? No way. I'll give her anything she might need but I don't have space for anyone else."

"She can come stay with me," said Moxxi. "After all, we get along real well and I _am_ an experienced mother. Besides, I'll soon be setting up a new Underdome out at Badass Crater and could use an extra pair of hands."

"I'm sorry, stay with you? Are you serious? Have you seen this girl? She's… stunning!" Jaks blushed, and was sure this time that Axton was talking. She remembered the way he'd looked at her out in Three Horns.

"Dude, she's eighteen. Can you please not say that," said Mordecai.

"That's right, she eighteen. Now, I don't know what you're seeing Mordecai, but I gotta tell you, this girl is a knock-out. I mean, if this was Isolus she'd be locked up for the sake of maintaining public order. If she goes to live with Moxxi in the Underdome, how do you think that's gonna go?" Axton replied.

"She'll be fine soldier-boy. I'll look after her as if she was my own," Moxxi assured him.

"Yeah, well I could say a few things about your own. Now don't get me wrong, I'm sure Miss Jakobs would be a boon for your business… the bar would always be full just at the chance of getting a glimpse of her. But I'm not sure that qualifies as you being a mother figure."

Jaks heard a loud slapping sound. "Oww!" she heard Axton gasp.

"Now look what you made me do," complained Moxxi. "I've cracked a nail. Damn!"

"I hate to say it," Mordecai spoke up, "But he's right Moxxi. The Underdome's no place for Jaks. She's been through enough already. She's eighteen, I don't think she needs a parental figure anymore, but she does need family. We can make room for her here in HQ."

Jaks had heard enough. She stepped out from behind the corner, with little Earl still in her arms. "Enough, please," she said. "I've been living here for three years, and until recently most of you had never talked to me," she looked at Lilith and went on, "some of you still haven't. So while I appreciate your concern, I'll be the one to decide what I do from now on."

"We're not trying to make decisions for you Ruby-red," Moxxi said tenderly.

"I know. I heard what you said, I know you're just trying to look out for me," Jaks replied.

"Uh, how much did you hear?" Axton asked cagily.

"Quite a bit," Jaks shot back with a teasing smile.

Axton turned a little red and fumbled with shoulder turret. Mordecai stepped forward, "Jaks, nothing needs to be decided yet. No one will be making the decision for you. You should go home and rest."

Jaks smiled softly. "Thanks Mordecai. I want you to know, I'm grateful for your support. But I've already decided, I'm leaving Sanctuary."

"Where are you going to go kitten?" asked Moxxi with some concern.

"I'm leaving for Aegrus. I'm going to live with Hammerlock out at his lodge."

"With Hammerlock?" Axton asked in disbelief. "You know he's – "

"My closest friend. He's heading out to the continent to continue his research on boroks, and I'll be going with him. I'll be able to finally finish my education, and with my medical knowledge I'll be able to help out the hunters who stay at the lodge when they run into trouble. Plus little Earl will have somewhere to grow up." She shuffled the skag pup as he nuzzled against her. "Hammerlock and I talked it through, and it's what I want."

"Well you know who to come to when you want to talk girl to girl," Moxxi stepped forward and hugged her. "I'm always here for you sugar."

"I know Moxxi," Jaks hugged her back. She nodded to Mordecai and Marcus, and shot another shy smile at Axton, then walked back across the square. Ready to start a new life in the wilds of Aegrus.


End file.
